Sleigh



(No Model.)

B. P. SWEET.

SLEIGH.

No. 560,072. Patented May 12, 1896.

nrLEy-hE AH UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

BENJAMIN Ff SlVEET, OF FOND DU LAC, VISOONSIN.

SLEIGH` SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 560,072, datedMay 12, 1896.

Application filed December 23, 1895. Serial No. 573,151. (No model.)

To all whom, it' may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. SWEET, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fond du Lac, in the county of Fond du Lac and State ofXVisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sleighs, ofwhich the Jfollowing is a speciiication.

My invention relates toan improvement in sleigh-beam holders or saddleswhich are attached to the runners of the sleigh, its object being toprovide a saddle which, while it strengthens the runners in a horizontaland vertical direction, will hold the beam in a position for its easymovement therein, and can be secured to the runner in suchA a mannerthat if shrinkage thereof occurs the tightening of its bolts will drawits parts in two directions and hold them tightly thereto.

My improvement is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure l is a plan of a sleigh embodying my invention. The followingfigures are upon a larger scale than Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a side elevationof the central part lengthwise of the sleigh, the beam being removedfrom the saddle and the bolster suspended in its working position abovethe cap-piece of the saddle. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section lengthwiseof the sleigh-beam saddle upon the line a a of Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is avertical section of the sleigh-beam saddle, its cap-piece, and runnerupon the line x an of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an elevation of one end of asleigh-beam and its irons. Fig. 6 is an end view of the same. Fig. 7 isa plan of either the upper or lower side of said beam and its irons,Fig. 8 is a plan view of the upper edge of the opposite sides of thesleigh-beam saddle, a chain being shown in place of a cap-piece, asinFigs. 1 and 2. Fig. 9 is an elevation of a casting for use in connectingthe chain ends with the saddle sides, and Fig. 10 is a transversesection of the short leg of the angle of the beam end angle-irons uponthe line z ,e of Fig. 5.

Similar numerals and letters indicate like parts in the several views.

1 indicates the sleigh-runner; 2, its shoe; 3, its beam; 4, its beam endirons; 5, the bolster; 6 and 6', the beam and bolster wearirons; 7, thebolster king-bolt; 8, the sleightongue; 9, the tongue-roller; 10, aspringpole 5 11, a chain, which connects the tongue and spring-pole;11', the chain-hook; 12, a hook upon the tongue-roller for attaching achain or doubletree, by which the sleigh may 5 5 be drawn; 13, a block,which is placed upon the tongue-roller; 14, the sleigh-beam saddle; 15,the saddle cap-piece; 16,-a chain, which connects opposite sides of thesaddle-seat; 17, a casting for connecting the end of the 6o chain to thesaddle-seat side whenever the chain is used as a substitute for thecap-piece.

The sleigh upon which these improvements are applied is designedprincipally for use in logging operations, said sleighs usuallyconsisting of a pair of short runners having a beam, one or more, with abolster and tongue, and having hitched to its rear a similar pair ofrunners with beam, but having no tongue, the connection between the twobeing a 7o reach or two chains.

For the purpose of illustrating my improvements only the forward runnersare shown. All parts of the sleigh are required to be very strong, asthe sleigh is intended for running upon ice roads made expressly for ithaving a track of about eight feet gage, the sleigh being provided withbolsters near twelve feet in length, upon which the logs are piled ashigh as they will lie, when the load is bound 8o with chains.

The loads weigh many tons, and it is essential that all parts of thesleigh are heavy and strong. For the purpose of guiding and controllingthese immense loads the tongue is made heavy andconsequently imposes agreat weight upon the neck of the team, and in order to relieve the teamin a measure from this weight a tongue-supporting device of some kind iscommonly used, one being shown in 9o Fig. 1, consisting of thespring-pole 10, block 13 for giving a leverage to the chain for liftingthe tongue, and the chain 11 having a hook 11l for changing the lengthof said chain. Other devices are often applied; but this arrangement ispreferable for the reason of its non-interference with thehitchingof theteam to the tongue.

The runners are necessarily large pieces of timber which it requires along time to season roo thoroughly, and as the sleighs are used only afew months during the winter season and are then stored away for thesummer months more or less shrinkage of said timbers takes place and theirons of the sleigh are almost invariably found to be loose upon theirseveral parts when again wanted for use. It is therefore essential thatmeans are provided for taking up the shrinkage, so as to hold the ironstightly to the wood, and for this reason the iron saddle of the runnersis constructed of sections, which are secured to the runner with bolts,which by screwing up their nuts can be clamped tightly upon it. Theseirons are cast with their bolt-holes in their proper places and areinterchangeable, so that ifone section of the saddle should break it canbe readily replaced with an exact duplicate. Af-

ter being cast they are made malleable, which process requires a lengthof time in proportion to the thickness or bulk of the casting. Largepieces are found to be of less strength in proportion to their bulk thansmaller ones, the process being less perfect in the former than 'in thelatter. It is therefore desirable to form the irons in as small piecesas is consistent with the strength demanded of them.

lVhile it isessen'tial that the joints between the saddle and beam aresomewhat loose it is just as essential that the separate sections whichform said joints are so made that each section can be bolted tightlytothe wood notwithstanding the wood mayshrink. I therefore form the saddleof two similar and in terchangeable sections l) of such a form that whentheir corresponding sides are placed upon opposite sides of asleigh-runner and bolted together and to the runner they form a saddlefor holding Aone end of the sleighbeain. They are bolted together withbolts c, to the runner with bolts c', and also through thedependingiianges d with bolts c", whereby they can Ybe drawn tightly upon therunner in two directions for taking up any shrinkage thereof.

lYhen the sections are first placedupon the runner, a small space e isleft between the sections for allowing the shrinkage of the wood, invwhich space a piece of packing may be inserted, said packing beinglessened in thickness or entirely removed, as the shrinkage of the woodmay require.

The saddle-'sections are each provided with a seat f for the beam midwaytheir ends, having vertical sides 71 with inward projections t' ofapproximately a quarter-round, so that when two sections are boltedtogether the saddle-'seat sideshave a nearlyhalf-round inward projectionfor holding the beam from endwi'se movement.

Each section is provided with circular apertures j, one each side ofthe'seat f, said apertures forming,when two'sec'tions are boltedtogether upon opposite sides of the runners of a sleigh, a holder uponopposite runners for one'end of the Aspring-pole 10.

A sleigh-beam having irons upon its ends, by which it may be held inplace upon the runners within the saddle, is shown inFigs. 5, 6, 7, and10, the irons of which are in small Sections and are adapted like thesesaddlesections for allowing the wood to shrink and said irons to bedrawn tightly to the wood for taking up any shrinkage thereof, and whichis well suited for use upon sleighs having this saddle; but it will beevident that beams having irons forfittin g the saddle, which consist ofany desired number of sections, or even havin-g no irons, the wood ofthe beam being fitted for use upon the saddle, may be used, and I makeno claim to the beam end irons here shown in this application, aseparate application fora patent upon said irons being about to bepresented to the Patent Office. The beam end irons here shown consist offour similar sections having bolt-holes 7a 79 for bolting them to thebeam, an inward projection s to be tted into the wood for holding theirons from moving lengthwise of the beam', and a groove Z for engagingthe saddle-seat side projections. j

For convenience in lifting the sleighs when empty, for the purpose ofgetting them into the desired positiondfor loading, it is necessarytohave some means provided for holding the beam from being lifted out ofits seat. Two methods are4 shown, one by means of the cap-piece 15 andthe other by means of the chain 1G, the former being generallypreferable. Either method serves to hold the beam from being lifted outof its seat, and also serves to strengthen the saddle by tying its sidestogether, whereby the castings which form said sides can be 4madelighter than if not connected.

lVhen heavy loads are drawn over uneven ground, the bolsteris liable todrop upon one side or the other of the sleigh and the load willsometimes turn over 5 but with the cappiece 15 in Vposition above thesleigh-beam and bolted to the saddle-sections the bolster will be heldup by the cap-piece, while the beam is free for movement withinthe'saddle, as may be demanded by the surface of the ground over whichthe sleigh is passing.

The cap-piece is provided with depending ears n for entering the slot abetween the sections l), they having bolt-holes through which they canbe connected to the saddlesections by bolts o. It is alsoprovidedlengthwise and centrally of it with round-edged ribs p and q,the former for contact with the curved surface m of the beam end ironsand the latter, while serving to strengthen the cap-piece, also presentsa surface upon which there will be but vlittle friction of the bolsterwhcn'the sleigh is turning corners with heavy loads thereon.

The ends of the cap-piece are rabbeted into the upper edges of thesaddle-sections and its upper surface is free from any obstruction tothe swinging back and forth of the bolster.

The chain 16 being used, it is connected with the saddle-sections by theuse of the castings 17, one at each end of the chain, its pint engaginga linkof the chain and its ear fa being adapted to enter the same slotand IOO IIO

to be bolted to the saddle-sections with the same bolt which has beennamed as a fastening7 for one end of the cap-piece.

I do not claim a metallic saddle cast in one piece; neither do I claim aloose connection of the beam and its seat upon the runner, broadly, asbeing new in its application to sleighs, it having been in use in someform for a long time.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is*

l. In a sleigh for logging or similar uses, a metallic saddle consistingof two similar sections connected together with bolts, said sectionsbeing adapted to be placed with their corresponding sides facing eachother upon opposite sides of a runner to bear upon the upper edge of therunner and to have their depending flanges bolted thereto, and to formintermediate their ends equally upon each section a seat for thesleigh-beam, said runner having a thickness sufficient for holding theopposite parts of said sections which are above the runner at adist-ance from each other, substantially as described.

2. In a sleigh for logging or similar uses, a metallic saddle consistingof two similar sections connected together with bolts, said sectionsbeing adapted to be placed with their corresponding sides facing eachother upon opposite sides of a runner and to have their dependingflanges bolted thereto, and to form intermediate their ends a seat forthe sleighbeam, said runner having a thickness sufficient for holdingthe opposite parts of said sections which are above the runner at adistance from each other, said saddle having a seat for the sleigh-beammidway its ends, the sides of the seat being vertical and having aprojection of such a form that the sections when bolted together presentopposite inward projections of a form approximating a halfcircle,substantially as set forth.

3. In a sleigh for logging and similar uses, a metallic saddleconsisting of two similar sections connected together with bolts, saidsections being adapted to be placed upon opposite sides of a runner withtheir corresponding sides facing each other, and to have their dependingflanges bolted thereto, and to form intermediate their ends a seat forthe sleighbeam, said runner having a thickness sufficient for holdingthe opposite parts of said sections which are above the runner at adistance from each other, said saddle having a seat for the sleigh-beammidway its ends, the sides of the seat being vertical and having aprojection of such a form that the sections when bolted together presentopposite inward projections of a form approximating a halfcircle, and acap-piece connecting the opposite sides of the saddle-seat and havingits ends rabbeted into said sides flush with their upper surface andbeing secured thereto, substantially as described.

- BENJAMIN F. SWEET.

Witnesses:

F. H. SWEET, BERTHA FoLTz.

